OctOber 27, 2019 3pm Montrose Pavilion

THANKS TO OUR CONCERT PARTNER

“Music has always been My go-to friend,” George said. He loves singing, and family lore has it that George said he aspired to be “a singing preacher,” which turned out to be true!

A retired Presbyterian minister living in Montrose, George began singing in his church choir in junior high and has “lost count” of those he’s been in since. He’s sung with The Roger Wagner chorale in the Hollywood Bowl and the Princeton Seminary touring choirs for four seasons.

“My family believed in going to ‘Community Concerts,’” where he heard the von Trapp family singers and Vienna Boys Choir in concert. “I fell in love with opera, listening on the radio Saturdays, and have seen some of the greatest. I lapped up everything I could about music in college and never stopped learning.”

When he began writing and researching the program notes for the VSA, “I quickly realized how little I really did know…the more I learned, the more I discovered I didn't know! It was a pleasure to prepare them, and I shall miss doing them.”

We dedicate our October concert to George, with sincere thanks for providing his musical education, insights, and musings to our program notes for many years.

DEDICATION GEORGE L. MILLER, D.MIN.

“Montrose Memorial Hospital believes in the power of music to bring joy and even help aid in healing,” says James Kiser, CEO. “Our music therapy program touches many patients’ lives. We know our community will be lifted up by a great show from the Valley Symphony Orchestra.” Music has the ability to help more than the heart.

The MMH Music Therapy program currently hosts multiple warm-hearted volunteers. These volunteers donate their time and talent to lighten the mood of patients and provide healing harmonies during their greatest times of need.

Music Therapy is one of many services that make MMH a Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital – the only hospital in Colorado with that distinction for four years in a row. Montrose residents have many reasons to be proud of their hospital and can be proud of the great work by the Valley Symphony Association to orchestrate this wonderful event.

MUSICIAN SPOTLIGHT BETH PERTZ

Beth began studying cello at 14. As a senior, she performed in the Colorado Springs Symphony, glorying in the beautiful music and opportunity to share the stage with wonderful musicians. During her freshman year at CU Boulder, she dropped the music major, unable to overcome a fear of performing solo in public. For 30 years, she played sporadically and privately. After attending a “delightful program and performance” of the VSA, she called the director and relayed a traumatizing experience she had years ago where a conductor publicly shamed her for playing incorrectly. “Mike assured me that would never happen under his direction. I believed him and have been with the VSA for 11 years.”

She grew up with classical music. Her mother played the viola in the Colorado Springs Symphony, and Beth attended

every performance and other magnificent musical events. “I feel at home in an orchestra and love the experience of progressing through a program of music from the first sight-reading session to the performance. There is something magical that happens every time. When I first start working on the music, I think, ‘I can’t possibly play these hard parts!’ But little by little—it does take practice—those passages become easier. Performing with scores of other musicians has been a continual source of joy.”

One summer, she lived in the country near Boulder. “When I practiced, cows would mosey over until the whole herd was clustered just across the fence outside my window.” They proved an appreciative and gentle audience. Now, when she gets nervous during a performance, “I imagine a bunch of cows just over the edge of the stage!”

She and her husband moved to Delta in 2002. As an adult literacy instructor, Beth teaches multiple subjects to adults seeking to obtain their high school equivalency diploma. She enjoys hiking and camping in Utah’s Escalate Wilderness; tending to her garden perennials; ringing church bells; and having tea parties.

SPANISH FIESTA! A MUSICAL PORTRAIT OF SPAINVALLEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

ESPAÑA CAÑI: SPANISH FOLK SONG ArrAnged by Merle J. IsAAc

EL RECLICARIO (PASO DOBLE) by Jose PAdIllA

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE: OVERTURE by gIoAchIno rossInI

edIted by clArk McAlIster

SEVILLA FROM SUITE ESPAGNOLE OP. 47 by IsAAc AlbenIz

orchestrAted by clArk McAlIster

ASTURIAS by IsAAc AlbenIz

trAnscrIbed And ArrAnged by VIctor loPez

CARMEN SUITE

by georges bIzet

edIted by toM kennedy

INTERMISSION

SPANISH DANCE NO.1 (FROM LA VIDE BREVE) by MAnuel de FAllA

edIted by cArl sIMPson

CAPRICCIO ESPAGNOL by nIkolAI rIMsky–korsAkoV

ArrAnged by rIchArd Meyer

ARAGONESA: NO. 1 OF PIÉCES ESPAGNOLES by MAnuel de FAllA

orchestrAted by clArk McAlIster

RITUAL FIRE DANCE (FROM EL AMOR BRUJO) by MAnuel de FAllA

orchestrAted by WIllIAM ryden

THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM (THE QUEST) FROM MAN OF LA MANCHA MusIc by MItch leIgh

ArrAnged by VIctor loPez

ANDALUCIA SUITE (eMbrAcIng MAlAguenA, AndAlucIA, gItAnerIAs,

cordobA, guAdAlquIVIr, And AlhAMbrA) by ernesto lecuonA

sAssy And clAssy, sPAIn enVokes IMAges oF sensuAl FlAMenco dAncers, FIery MAtAdors, And exotIc culturAl InFluences FroM north AFrIcA.

Vivid, evocative, passionate and colorful are all adjectives frequently used to describe the music of Spain. Spanish classical music lives in its own, different world apart from the bulk of traditional European classical music like Bach, Mozart, Brahms, and Beethoven.

The music of Spain has a long history. It has strongly informed the development of Western music, and has greatly influenced Latin American music. Spanish music is often associated with traditional styles such as flamenco and classical guitar. While these forms of music are common, there are many different traditional musical and dance styles across the regions.

Dance strongly informs these musical genres, infusing them with rhythm; the region of Catalonia alone is the source of over 200 traditional dances. Also, Spain's geographical position and history mean that its culture has absorbed

musical traditions from Arab, Gypsy, Jewish, African and Greek populations.

The jota is originally from Aragon, in the north of Spain, but is popular throughout the country. Couples dance in fast triple time with hands raised above their heads, playing castanets. The muiñeira (Miller's Dance) is from Galicia and Asturias in northwest Spain and is accompanied by bagpipes. Spain's most well-known dance, the flamenco, is a vigorous rhythmic dance style of the Andalusian Gypsies. It is characterized by its heel-tapping and graceful movements of the hands and body and enjoys a universal cultural appeal.

Spanish music played a notable part in the early developments of western classical music, from the 15th through the early 17th century. The breadth of musical innovation can be seen in composers like Tomás Luis de Victoria, styles like the zarzuela of Spanish opera, the ballet of Manuel de Falla, and the classical guitar music of Francisco Tárrega. In the 20th century, flamenco musicians have revitalized their art with jazz and rock elements, yet still maintain their Spanish roots.

This concert features the beguiling, alluring, and captivating rhythms of Spain, interpreted by Spanish composers as well as Frenchman Georges Bizet, Italian Giacomo Rossini, and Russian Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

SPANISH FIESTA!A MUSICAL PORTRAIT OF SPAIN

O R C H E S T R A

2020–2021

Join us for a70s FLASHBACK PARTYSaturday, September 26, 2020 @ Montrose Pavilion